Studies funded by the company itself have shown the honeycomb pattern for locking screws may contribute to the plates breaking. Researchers “consistently observed” failures between the eighth and ninth holes for the screws in longer versions. One solution was to fill the holes. But the researchers said the devices still failed at roughly the same rate. They blamed a “thin section of the plate near the outer edge” as a weak spot in the device's design.

A January 2016 study in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma found “early mechanical failure” happened at a higher rate for devices like the Curved Condylar Plate than for traditional locking plates. The researchers cautioned against using the plates to repair certain types of fractures just above the knee that involve the femur's growth plate.